Archive for April, 2011

Easter Car Show

Posted in Legend, Road Trip, Utah on April 25, 2011 by tysonhugie

Odometer:  471,722

Every year for the last 8 years, I’ve attended a car show held in the town of Hurricane, in the southwestern corner of Utah.  It’s an Easter weekend tradition.  I’ve entered a few different cars over the years but the high mileage coupe has been shown at least 3 or 4 times.

My friend Branson and his dad Don have been restoring a 1965 Ford Mustang for the last couple of years and they drove down from Salt Lake City to enter it in its first show, so I decided to throw the old Legend in the show one more time.  Despite the clear coat fade and some rock chips that even the bra can’t cover up, the car cleans up pretty well for its age and mileage!  I displayed the original window sticker, a printout of my maintenance worksheet, and swapped out the dirty “daily” floor mats for a new-in-the-box set that have never been stepped on.  The night before the sh0w, I also installed a set of 19″ Racing Hart C2 wheels that I picked up many years ago and use for shows and special occasions.

This particular car show is dominated largely by classics & muscle cars, but the Legend got plenty of attention and was well received.  It’s interesting how the car seems to attract people from all age ranges.  I talked with one woman who wished she’d “Never sold the Legend!” because her newer Acura wasn’t nearly as fun to drive.  The old Legend ended up taking home 2nd place in the Import class.  Branson and Don won 3rd place in the “1973 & Older Mustang” class.  Much deserved recognition!  Congratulations to them.

Here Branson and I are pictured with our trophies and cars after the show, at Pioneer Park in St. George, Utah.

Today I returned from St. George to Phoenix via Las Vegas (~400 mi) and it was smooth sailing with minimal traffic.  I had a FULL car.   In addition to my suitcase and some other misc stuff, I was hauling the four Racing Hart wheels/tires (in bags in the back seat) and a set of four 17″ TL Type-S wheels that I was transporting for a friend.  The coupe’s interior capacity is quite impressive!  Just north of Wickenburg, AZ  at milepost 193 on US 93, I was pulled over and issued a warning for a window tint violation.  Can’t survive in Arizona without window tint!

Most recent maintenance was an oil change at Acura North Scottsdale at 470,500 miles before this Utah trip.  There was no inspection provided at the time so I can only assume that the maintenance issues are status quo from last time.  Car still starts, runs, drives like a champ.

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London Bridge

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Road Trip on April 10, 2011 by tysonhugie

Odometer:   470,011

Yesterday morning, I visited one of the many local pick-and-pull salvage yards to scout out some car parts for a friend of mine.  I always enjoy wandering through the lanes of vehicle hulks – some have lived long lives; others were cannibalized young.   It’s interesting to try and figure out what each one has been through and how it met its ultimate fate.  Of the five 91-95 Legends that I saw in this particular yard, the highest odometer was 224,000.  Such a shame to see, especially knowing that these vehicles are capable of so much more.

The Legend achieved the 470k mark last night around 10 p.m. on the eastbound I-10 and Loop 202 interchange in central Phoenix, Arizona, returning from a trip to Laka Havasu City, Arizona.

AZ history lesson:  The 1831 London Bridge that spanned the River Thames was dismantled in the 1960’s, brought to America, and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City in western Arizona.

In this weekend’s adventure I enjoyed an easy 211 mile drive each way to the landmark.  Rain and wind in Phoenix gave way to partly cloudy skies and a gorgeous sunset out at Lake Havasu.  From Interstate 10, the rest of the drive is largely on a 2-laner and the scenery is great.

Checking out the bridge.

Driving across the bridge.

This might be the best time to explain why there’s a signature on my dashboard — it’s the first thing people ask about when they ride in my car.  That signature belongs to Japanese automotive designer Shigeru Uehara.  He pioneered the development of the Honda/Acura NSX and the Honda S2000.  I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Uehara in September 2010 at an event held at Honda America’s corporate office in Torrance, California.  At that time, I’d been invited as a VIP guest for a Honda S2000 “Homecoming” event at which he spoke:

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Trip to Sandy Eggo

Posted in California, Legend, Road Trip on April 4, 2011 by tysonhugie

Odometer:  469,133

Weekend roadtrip to the beach!  The old Legend made a voyage to southern California and back to Phoenix this weekend.  A friend and I went to the San Diego Crew Classic rowing regatta, held at Mission Bay.  Aside from some spendy gas prices (paid $4.13 for 91 octane this morning at Chevron in Point Loma), it was a pleasant adventure and it’s always one of my favorite drives.  Interstate 8 is (in my experience anyway) one of the least traveled interstates and thus it’s an easy drive to set the cruise control and forget it.  The highway parallels the Mexican border and offers pretty nice scenery if you’re into desert and sand dune landscape.  We did make a pit stop at the “Center of the World” monument in Felicity, California – just west of the AZ/CA border.  There’s a monument/pyramid and a sign denoting the location’s significance.

On the subject of mileage, I did make an effort to check mileage (I can’t remember the last time I’ve reset the trip odometer – I always just let it roll around and reset itself every 1,000 miles).  The coupe pulled a modest 370 miles out of 13.22 gallons today, so right around 28 mpg.  Not the best I’ve achieved, but we did have quite a bit of wind and it’s still better than the 26 mpg highway rating from the car’s original window sticker:

I never did see that pesky check engine light at all this trip.  The A/C got a good workout – we’ve already crept into the 90’s for temperatures.  So much for springtime – bring on the triple digits.  During the return trip, we raced a freight train that paralleled the two-lane Hwy 238 approaching Maricopa, Arizona and were able to pull off the side of the road and await its arrival.

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